1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for finishing textile products, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for tip shearing tufted carpet utilizing an embossed surface below the backing which extends portions of the carpet closer to the cutting heads thereby cutting a pattern into the carpet which inversely corresponds with the extended portions of the embossed surface.
2. Brief Description of Related Art
One method of finishing tufted carpet is to tip shear the loop ends to a uniform height. U.S. Pat. No. 4,323,612, which issued in 1982, discusses carpets finished in this manner.
The traditional method of tip shearing carpets involves running tufted carpet over a smooth roller where the roller contacts the polypropylene backing on the bottom of the carpet. The tufted loops are then cut to a uniform height utilizing a cutter having one or more blades which cuts the tufted loops to a uniform height relative to the back of the polypropylene layer on the back of a carpet since the blades of the cutter are a fixed distance from the roller. The greater a distance the tips of the pile extend from the backing, the greater amount is sheared.
The tip-shearing of carpet is utilized to provide a visual effect since the sheared ends provide a different visual effect than non-sheared ends. It has been discovered that the more material which is sheared away (i.e., the shorter lengths the carpet tufts are cut to extend from the backing), the darker most carpets become. It has also been discovered that loops are more durable and take wear better than sheared loops.
In some applications, it has been found that carpet may be tufted to high and low loops with the high loops resembling a design. The high loops may then be tip sheared to create a different effect than if they were allowed to remain as loops with the low loops not being cut in this process. While this technique produces an attractive carpet design, the sheared high loops extend a distance above the non-sheared low loops. Accordingly the sheared high loops take the brunt of the wear. Accordingly a need exists for a pattern to be cut into a carpet where the cut pattern extends a distance below the remaining loops.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,749 discloses a method of patterned shearing of pile fabrics which effectively utilizes compressed air to provide a particular pattern when utilized in conjunction with an otherwise uniform cutting and severing apparatus. While this reference teaches an excellent way of producing patterns in pile fabrics, it requires the addition of compressed air and jets to be placed proximate to the cutter assembly. This would require retrofitting existing tip shearing cutters with compressed air capability, jets and a controller for the jets.
Accordingly, a need exists to produce a design in carpets without necessarily requiring retrofilling and/or providing compressed air capability.